Suggested Broad bean Recipes

Asparagus and broad bean salad works best with early-season broad beans, so you don't have to remove the skins of the beans. The addition of a poached egg turns these simple springtime ingredients into a delicious meal.

This rice salad is spiced up with early summer veggies - fresh tomatoes, broad beans and extra nutrients from kidney beans. The optional dressing adds to the nutty flavour of the brown rice and the whole thing takes just 20 minutes! If you don't fancy a lemon dressing, you can mix in Cheddar cheese instead!

This recipe, sent in by lovely reader Katie, was served to her (a broad bean loather) by a dear friend. And because she describes herself as of the "polite persuasion" she forced herself to eat it. Imagine her surprise when it turned out to be delicious!

And we're very much in favour of recipes that convert the dubious into fans, so we're delighted to publish this one.

"Broad Beans are just coming in to season now. Broad beans are the only homegrown beans that are frost hardy and truly happy in our climate. They give us one of the first tastes of summer; six weeks sooner than runner or French beans.

"At Riverford we find nothing more relaxing than getting a large bag of beans and sitting down in quiet contemplation slowly popping these little gems from the jacket nature provided them. Don’t be put off if the pods are marked with ‘chocolate spot’ speckling, it will not affect the quality or the flavour of the beans.

"We also love this simple little recipe for Broad Beans, with Mint & Pecorino, which in the farm kitchen is known simply as Riverford Beans on Toast!"

This brilliant, simple dish has been sent in to us by Jane C, who says:

"I had a veg box with pounds of broad beans, and a friend brought me a huge bag from her allotment. I'd never tried them before, so I experimented with what I had handy, and this side dish has become a favourite with my 14 year old son."

Well we don't blame your son, Jane, and we're impressed with your creativity in the kitchen!

Quinoa (pronounced “keen-wa”) is a South American “grain” – actually a seed. It’s considered by many to be a super-food, because of the balance of proteins it contains. It's easy to cook and delicious.

This recipe also uses sunflower or walnut oil in the dressing (high in essential fatty acids), so it's a super-tasty, super-healthy meal.

"I looked in my fridge and had a lot of the above and didn't know what to do with it all. I'm sorry I don't measure the ingredients I just bung it all together and its what I have to hand, however the result is a very tasty mess! I used to hate broad beans, having been forced to eat them as a child, but i find if they are skinned they are actually quote tasty. Its nice to eat a meal were all the ingredients were grown on my allotment."

You put us to shame, Karen - this is a wonderful creation and all the more exciting given that you grew all the ingredients!